December 30, 2016.

On normal nights, the secluded district of Gangnam would be relatively peaceful and calm, especially considering the weather outside. Tonight, however, as the time on most clocks showed for it to be around 2 o’clock in the morning, one particular area in the luxurious district was hectic. From a mile away, one would already be able to spot the red and blue lights, as well as hear various sirens and honks.

Despite the time, quite the crowd had gathered around the number of authority vehicles, comprising of two police cars, a firetruck and an ambulance. It was either due to the noise or mere interest that kept the fellow passerbys awake. There were mostly adults, some in their pyjamas and further covered by a thick outerlayer of padded jackets, gasping at the horrific sight before them.

 “How tragic,” they murmured.

 “It’s so sad,” they whispered.

 “Are there any casualties?” one asked a police officer on standby. There was a grim look on the officer’s face as he hesitated to reply.

 “Sorry ma’am, I am not authorized to disclose that.” he gave a firm nod of his head in respect.

Yet the citizens’ biggest question was answered when a stretcher was rolled out, the figure of a human body hidden by a big, black sheet. Louder gasps were heard, one woman had even started to cry out of sympathy. The situation became worse when the crowd realised one horrible thing: the discovered body was a woman, and there was a prominent bump over where her stomach should be.

The car that was the cause of the whole scene laid on its side, wrecked to the point it seemed as if nobody could have survived an accident like that. Smoke was slowly filling the musky winter air, rising concern that the car would set on fire. The white Hyundai Elentra was so badly ruined that the firefighters had taken two hours to pull the woman’s body out of it. It was unfortunate to see her end up this way, but if they had known of the presence of the man in the ambulance, his fate was even more devastating.

Kim Seokjin was rushed to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning—he had been found unconscious with a slow pulse, but he was alive and that was the only sign of hope the authorities needed. Multiple surgeries were performed on him in attempt to save his life that was gradually slipping through the doctors’ fingers; he remained in the operating theatre from the moment he arrived at the hospital until one in the evening. He regained consciousness six hours later with a broken neck, fractured ribs, a broken left leg and not to the mention, eighteen stitches on his right eye, twelve on his right ear plus all the major cuts and bruises that littered all over his face and limbs.

All of that, yet none hurt more than the news that were broken to him a while after he woke up.

 “Where’s Heeyeon?” Seokjin had asked weakly. He could finally recall what had happened and so, his first worry was regarding his wife. His parents, his mother-in-law and younger brother who were present in the room with him exchanged glances among themselves, his mother-in-law in particular already tearing up and sniffling.

 “Mom, dad, where’s Heeyeon?” he began to panic now, upon seeing Heeyeon’s mother’s reaction. His own mother, eyes swollen from all the crying she had already done, took careful steps towards him and gently his head.

 “My darling, Heeyeon... Heeyeon is...” Mrs Jeon, too, was unable to find the right words to say. Everything happened all too soon—only the night before, they were having dinner together and Mrs Jeon spent a good time discussing baby names with Heeyeon. Not long after, she got the call that her son was fighting for his life and her daughter-in-law was gone forever.

Seokjin knew. He knew what his mother was attempting to say, yet he couldn’t accept it. Out of reflex, he tried shaking his head, but was frozen in place because of his neck cast.

 “No, no, no, mom, no,” he began to sob. In an instant, images of the woman he loved most flashed rapidly in his mind, giving him a major headache.

 “I’m so sorry,” Mrs Jeon planted a long kiss on her son’s head, trying to calm him down by holding him in her arms, though in a difficult manner. “I’m so, so sorry, sweetie. We lost baby girl too, I’m sorry.”

Hearing the mention of his unborn daughter, Seokjin’s cries only became louder. He started to shout and toss around in his creaky hospital bed, but with help from his father, the two parents managed to hold their eldest son down. Seungcheol had run to his older brother’s side as well, mumbling comforting words though he was sure Seokjin couldn’t hear them.

Seokjin’s wife, Ahn Heeyeon, along with their eight-month old yet to be born into this world, died on the night of the couple’s second anniversary.

Undoubtedly, half of Seokjin died too.

April 3, 1999.

There was no better way to celebrate the start of spring break with a trip to the playground. The snow had melted, the flowers were blooming and the weather was warm enough for children to play outside. It was a small set in front of a few apartment blocks with not that many things to play with, but children of that era could find fun in anything, including little seven-year-old Kim Seokjin. From playing tag with his neighbours Jongdae and Baekhyun, to climbing backwards on the monkey bars, not once did he pant or run out of energy. Even when he tripped over his feet, he quickly got up and continued running.

While finishing off with some alone time on the swings, Seokjin was rudely pushed from the back. The little boy fell on his knees, his face scrunching up in pain and as he got up, he was ready to fight whoever it was that crossed him. Yet when he saw who it was, an indescribable feeling bloomed within him, a feeling that made him feel good—little that small Seokjin knew it was the feeling of love at first sight.

The person who pushed him off—initially presumed to be a fellow boy—turned out to be a little girl. A very pretty little girl. Not much taller than him, two lopsided ponytails on each side of her head, big, brown eyes. While she had stolen Seokjin’s swing, her wide smile was enchanting, though there was a missing front tooth.

 “Can I have a turn?” she grinned cheekily.

Seokjin blushed, feeling shy that she talked to him.

 “You could have asked first.” he said. At that young age, he already had his manly ego to protect—he pretended that she didn’t effect him in any way.

 “I just did!” she giggled. She then cutely batted her eyelashes at him, a tactic that always seemed to work on her father. “Can you push me, please?”

Seokjin didn’t know what it was, but he immediately obeyed her orders. He started pushing her on the swing (his swing) and soon enough, the two children were chatting and laughing together happily. They played with each other until it was time for Seokjin to go home.

At first, it seemed like a pity that Seokjin didn’t get the girl’s name. He was in for a surprise when school reopened after the spring break and his class teacher announced that Im Jaehwan, Seokjin’s deskmate, had moved to a different school and in his place would be a new student. Young Seokjin was flabbergasted to see that the new student was the girl from the park, who bore the name Ahn Heeyeon and would be his new deskmate.

 “I missed you!” Heeyeon greeted him sweetly.

 “Me too.” Seokjin replied without thinking much, not even knowing if he actually missed her.

They were the best of friends ever since. Completely inseparable, they shared an indestructible bond that nobody and nothing could severe. From primary school to high school, here was no Seokjin without Heeyeon and vice versa. They grew up loyally by each other’s side, their families close as well, and their mothers already had their wedding planned when they were only eleven years old.

July 13, 2009.

Once the school bell rang and the teacher dismissed them, the students weren’t ashamed to scream in excitement. Summer break had been anticipated by the students, especially since they had just finished their deadly mid-year examinations. Heeyeon and Seokjin weren’t excluded; as always, most of their break time would be spent together, unless one of them went away on family vacation.

Like they had planned, they went for lunch after school at a small, cozy restaurant, to which Seokjin treated. It was just the two of them and that was how they liked it. With their stomachs filled, it was Heeyeon’s turn to treat as she bought ice-cream for the both of them and made their way to the playground where they had first met, which had also become their ‘usual place’.

There were nobody else aside from the two of them—the atmosphere was quiet, save from their laughter that they didn’t bother to tone down. It was a reason why their friendship was so strong: they had similar personalities, both were cheerful and bright and together, the sun couldn’t shine as bright as them. Heeyeon, especially, made Seokjin the happiest man alive.

He loved her. Yes, he did. He knew that he had taken a romantical liking to her since they met as little kids. Now that they were seventeen-year-old teenagers, he had long realised that his puppy love had grown into actual, solid affection for his best friend. Was he to confess? Not yet, never, probably. He’d never have the guts to.

He would have never expected Heeyeon to confess first, on that beautiful summer day.

 “Yeon, I’m curious,” Seokjin’s eyebrows knitted together. “Why’d you push me off that swing?”

Heeyeon shot him a weird look. “Swing? When?”

Before Seokjin could answer, she knew what he was talking about.

 “Oh! Right, then,” Heeyeon hummed, then reluctantly spoke again. “Uh, well. I pushed you off because... This might sound a little stupid—okay, a lot stupid—but anyways, I did it because I liked you. I thought you were cute.”

 “Well that’s one way to tell a seven-year-old you like him.” Seokjin mumbled, biting into his ice-cream.

Heeyeon kept quiet. Her smile had drooped into a frown. She threw her gaze away from Seokjin and sighed.

 “You still don’t get it, do you?”

 “Get what?”

 “Get that I like you!” Heeyeon grunted, clearly frustrated now. Her confession sent Seokjin’s body in an alarmed state; his heart began to beat so fast that he was sure it would break through his chest and he was frozen, unable to move, he couldn’t even blink.

 “W-what?”

Heeyeon sighed again. “I know that you don’t like like me, but I do like like you and... I know you’re going to reject me, it’s fine, it’s totally cool, I mean. As long as we stay friends, it’s seriously fine, Jin. I mean—”

 “I like you too.” Seokjin cut her off.

 “Wait, what? You do?”

 “Always have. From the second I first saw you.”

Heeyeon’s mouth fell open in shock. “Y-yeah... me too.”

A few seconds passed with the two of them simply staring into each other’s eyes. Their ice-cream had melted into their hands but neither noticed, too caught up in the moment that they never expected to happen. With Seokjin making the first move as he leaned in, they shared their first kiss, establishing what would be a relationship for life and after.

December 29, 2015.

The clink of two wine glasses was celebrated with whooping cheers and followed by more clinking. Seokjin’s close friends, none of whom were actually singers, sang to his favourite love songs to offer cheap entertainment to the guests. His family members as well as Heeyeon’s were busy going from table to table, greeting guests and catching up with friends they invited solely for old times’ sake.

The wedding hall was completely hectic, Seokjin was already exhausted and his cheeks were aching from smiling for all those photos, but each time he sneaked a glance at Heeyeon, elegant and beautiful in her puffy white dress, he felt reenergized. There came the time for the newly wedded couple to hit the dance floor and Seokjin was definitely no dancer, but he purposely exaggerrated his flimsy moves, just so he could see his wife’s pretty laugh.

Their wedding went smoothly, just the way they hoped for. Once it was all over, they finally had time to themselves, secure in the comfort of their now shared bedroom. Seokjin, already snuggled in bed, watched as Heeyeon did her nightly skincare routine. She caught his eyes in the mirror and chuckled.

 “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Seokjin smiled. “I just can’t believe it. We’re married.”

 “I know, right?” Heeyeon did her final touch up and climbed into bed. She scooted in nearer to Seokjin, hugging him close.

 “I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with you.” she said softly, looking at him with full admiration.

 “Oh yeah? Well, I’m excited to spend forever with you.” Seokjin replied.

 “Ew. Too cheesy.” Heeyeon teased, scrunching up her nose.

Seokjin laughed, feeling nothing but happiness at the moment. He was so blessed to have her by his side and now, they were tied to each other for a life union and for the whole of eternity, and Seokjin wouldn’t have it any other way.

April 3, 2017.

It had been more or less four months since Seokjin lost the love of his life. He had never been the same—he hadn’t been able to eat, sleep, or even smile, no matter how much time had passed. The winter during which he lost it all had passed and spring was greeting him, but he could still feel the harsh coldness of winter.

Seokjin had nightmares of the accident. Some nights were worse than others. He remembers every detail of what had happened. How they were on their way home from dinner at Seokjin’s parents’ house. How they were singing to a ballad song together. How Heeyeon said she wanted to name their daughter Jiseol. How Seokjin had agreed, when all of a sudden one of their tyres exploded. How Seokjin lost control of their car and how Heeyeon screamed when it began to swivel madly on the snowy road. How they had held hands when the car flipped over once, twice, thrice and finally stopped on Heeyeon’s side.

He released an inward sigh as he looked up at the tree branches above him. It was a cherry blossom tree—the flowers were in blooming season and it was an absolutely gorgeous sight to see. Seokjin had promised Heeyeon that he would take her and their baby to Seoul’s Cherry Blossom Festival that year, but that promise had been forcefully buried and Seokjin had come to see them alone.

He closed his eyes, taking in the sounds of nature that were rarely appreciated. Sounds of people talking, birds chirping, squirrels running up and down tree barks. He opened them again when he felt something brush against his cheek. Something in him snapped when he saw that a single cherry blossom had landed on his lap. Gently, he scooped into his hands and tears began to form.

Cherry blossoms were the symbol of life’s beauty, fragility and how short it really was, as the flowers were beautiful, fragile and often lived for too short of a time, leaving other people yearning to see them again.

Just like Heeyeon.

Seokjin held the flower firmly in his hand and got up from the bench he had been sitting on. Seeing the cherry blossoms wasn’t the only thing on his to-do list today, there was another task he had to carry out. The most important task. He had to go see his beloved wife.

It wasn’t that far from the festival to the Han river. He took his time in getting there; he took slow, careful steps, letting the spring breeze cool him down. He didn’t have much thoughts—he was only thinking about how happy he was that he’d finally be able to see Heeyeon again.

Spring had always been the resemblance of their love. It was during spring that they met and when they first confessed their feelings. On their fifth anniversary of dating, Heeyeon had told him that if anything were to happen to her, he could meet her again when the flowers bloom during spring. Hence, now he was simply listening to her.

He walked along the bridge that crossed over Han river, gazing out at the glorious, deep water. He reached the middle of the bridge and stopped walking, holding a strong grip on the railing. With a huff, he pulled himself up onto the railing, legs trembling from unstability. He barely noticed, though, as he was too fixated on the water below him. If he had caught a passerby’s attention and they were calling out for him, he didn’t notice. He heard nothing, except for Heeyeon’s voice saying his name.

With the cherry blossom still tucked in his hand, Seokjin let go, experiencing nothing but absolute peace as he fell. Right before his whole world turned dark, he smiled, as now he’d be with his Heeyeon again.

And this time, their spring would be eternal. There would be no winter to take her away from him. They would be together forever.